Istanbul day six

 Istanbul day six. Today I got my first real look at the city. For the last week people have been asking me, “how’s Istanbul?” Today I’ll get an answer. It’s been a lovely time so far, I just haven’t seen much of the city I’m spending time near. 

Rashad drove us all to Karakoy, the region facing the golden horn. Our first stop was a bookstore where I picked up another Joseph Conrad book. The store was massive and was full of books in English, mostly grey market imports from the US. We sat with our purchases and sipped tea with cakes. It’s a shame the US makes it so difficult to stick cafes everywhere. It is one of the greatest assets of the public spaces here.

What we find in the stacks

I skipped out a little early to get something I was in dire need of, a shave and haircut. Letting everything grow out apparently made me look Greek in Greece and makes me look Turkish in Turkey. At this point, it’s all getting a little too long. Blissfully the first barbershop I walked into was empty and had an English speaking barber. The cut was drama-free enough, although I almost asked him to leave 20 mm instead of asking him to cut 20 mm. I emerged a new man and rondesz vou’d with the group on Istiklal, they barely recognized me and apparently now I look even more Turkish. 

Jake and I left the women to their shopping and hunted down a beer. We’ve been drinking enough out here but after a week of only Raki, something gentler was in order. We settled into a cozy cafe and ordered two bottles of the local swill, a decent Pilsner. Alcohol culture is interesting here, Turkey is a nominally secular country with a large Muslim population. Alcohol is easy enough to buy but is taxed at roughly 100%, this means that sipping on hard liquor is the norm. Wine and beer are oddly expensive, especially when imported. That being said, you can get these things everywhere.

Just a couple of dudes

After our round, we met up with the girls and Reshad for dinner. Kivilcim picked out a lovely restaurant, Monsieur Bibendum agreed. All manner of baked goods with meat. I can’t even remember what I ate but it was fantastic. Our drive home was preceded by one more walk through the city. The lights are beautiful at night and there was so much to look at.